Computer + Video Games - Commodore Is Awesome

istence. Yes, I know your
excuse is "if the software
house doesn't tell how do
we know" oft used and oft
paraphrased.
Problems the MSX stable
may have had, but, bad or
unusable basic (Atari) lack
of upgrade facility (Spectrum,
Commodore) bad
disc facilities (Commodore)
limited compatability confined
to one make of accessories,
or at best third
parties.
The fact remains that
MSX is not dead no matter
what you may say even if
you do try to give the impression
that it is. There are
hundreds of games available.
Not to mention business
software etc. A lot of it in
the form of cartridge.
The easiest way to use
any software — a cartridge
loads in 1-2 seconds and
remains plugged in for fast
access no need for disc or
tape though these can all
remain plugged in for file
access and dumping to as
the need arises as well as
the printer.
If you really are
unbiased and
independent then
give us fair
treatment. I realise
you can not review
all makes all the
time and that the
others have been
around longer but
you don't have to
ignore us either or
are you afraid MSX
may leave the
others behind!
G Lucas
Somerset
• I always thought MSX
stood for Many Small Explosions
until I discovered Microsoft
basic. MSX isn't dead
— the Ed tells me — but it's
hardly in the same league as
the Spectrum or Commodore
brigade. C 4 VG was about
the only magazine to
champion the cause of the
MSX when it first hit the
scene two years ago. One of
our earlier issues carried a
special MSX supplement —
that was before all the specific
MSX mags appeared.
Maybe you missed it Mr
Lucas? We'll be keeping a
watchful eye on the MSX
scene — and I think you'll
find Tony Takoushi raving
about Konami's MSX version
of Nemesis on the back
page.
• I am writing for two
reasons. One to please Mr
Williams, who says he likes
arguments and also to complain
about Mark Doweirs
attitude towards the Spectrum
and the Amstrad. I am
the proud owner of an Amstrad
CPC 464. I have had it
for about two years after
upgrading from a Spectrum.
Mark should be more
careful when he criticises
the graphics of the Amstrads,
he obviously hasn't
seen or played Spindizzy or
Firebird's new game, Druid.
I have not seen ONE Amstrad
game where colour
clashes have been visible.
He also says that we would
appreciate Commodre or
Atari screen shots on Amstrad
reviews, but I definitely
would not. I like to see
what sort of game I am
buying and also I am sure
there are more Amstrad and
Spectrum users than there
are Atari ST and Amiga users,
By the way. All this business
about taking pictures
from the screen by pointing
an SLR camera at the monitor
is prehistoric technology,
if you don't mind me
saying so.
My Dad works for a computer
company that sells
computer-graphic camera
systems which take the RGB
output from the computer
and through a combination
of red, green and blue filter
wheels produces colour
hard copy that would make
the trick shots in Star Wars
look like a soggy comic.
Howard Dunn,
Burton-on-Trent
• I keep telling Paul
Boughton, C+ VG's deputy
editor, that he's using obsolete
technology. But he refuses
to stop using his box
Brownie. He keeps muttering
things about David
Bailey never using a video
camera. You just can't tell
him anything. But we would
like to see some of your
dumps. Suppose there's no
chance of a free sample. Eh
Dad? Dad!
• I feel that the review of
Dragon's Lair did not give
any hint that it is impossible
to get down the shaft, using
the disc, at the start of play. I
know of no-one who has
managed to complete this
part and I doubt if your
reviewer managed it either.
If you use cheat games to
help you review a game
fully, then surely you should
tell the readers that this is
what you have done.
In my view — and I will be
interested to hear other
readers views on my letter
— the playability of the
game is nil, If you cannot
even get past the first part,
then the game is a waste of
money.
Your reviews play a great
part in deciding whether —
or not — to buy a game and
we should have been
warned about the impossibility
of playing Dragon's
Lair.
Software Projects should
either refund the money, or
you should demand a poke
to allow you to tell us how to
get onto the next screen.
This brings me to another
question that has been puzzling
me for a long time —
how do readers manage to
discover/work out pokes. I
am sure lots of other readers
would be interestd in
how this is achieved.
Anthony E Dixon
Walsall
• Yeah! A man after my
own heart Anthony. I found
Dragon's Lair quite unplayable
too. But then I find
most games unplayable —
joysticks keep snapping off
in my hands. As for discovering
POKEs — perhaps
there's a would be C +-VG
writer out there who would
like to write in and tell us.
Perhaps I could persuade
the Ed to run a feature on
it...
• That Robert Schifreen
who wrote Five Years of
Computing in your November
issue really is a prat. In
the Micros Past article he
wrote that the C16, Plus/4
and MSX machines were
out, This is obviously
wrong. The machines
should have been in the
Micros Present column because
all of them are very
popular to this day. Companies
like Elite, Mastertronic,
Anirog and Imagine produce
excellent games for
the said machines. Even
more peripeherals are being
brought out for the
machines by companies
such as Konix and Spectravideo
so there is no shortage
of peripherals either.
Most importantly the
machines are very popular.
There are around 350 pupils
in our school and 140-150
have either a C16, Plus/4 or
MSX.
Robert Schifreen obviously
got his facts wrong. He
probably had his head in the
clouds over the past year. If
he was awake, however, he
would have noticed the rise
of these machines.
Mark Storey
Sheffield
• OK, maybe Robert might
have been a bit premature
about the C16 — but will it
still be as successful in '87
with the rise of the dedicated
video games
machines? He was accurate
in his statement that the
Original launch of the MSX
was a flop in the UK. Last
Christmas the machines
you mentioned were sold
off really cheaply so it's
pretty obvious why they
sold well isn't it? Robert is
as down to earth as the rest
of the Cs-VG team — which
isn't saying much...
• As one of the thousands
of proud Atari owners in the
UK, I find it very disturbing
that the so called 'serious'
software houses are giving
the Atari a miss as far as
new software is concerned.
At the moment, there are
quite a few titles being released.
"What's the problem
then? you say. The problem
is that it's ALL old, out of
date, • ***I
Continued on page 151
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